


Amatungulu

by SirJosephBanksFRS



Category: Aubrey-Maturin Series - Patrick O'Brian
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-03
Updated: 2013-05-03
Packaged: 2017-12-10 08:00:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/783696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SirJosephBanksFRS/pseuds/SirJosephBanksFRS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A chance encounter off the Cape on <i>HMS Resolution</i> changes Jack Aubrey’s life forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Amatungulu

Midshipman Aubrey was a long and lanky just turned sixteen year old who was perpetually sharp set, with an empty gut and two pence in his pocket when the bumboats arrived on the larboard side of _HMS Resolution_ , a third rate with seventy-four guns anchored off the Cape, near Simon's Town. For a mere ha’penny he could have over five pounds of custard apples, which he would inhale in an afternoon, even if it would make him sick that night. He stood on deck, his stomach cutting exotic capers and looked over the larboard side at the boats arriving, filled primarily with women of all ages. There were many whores of all different ages, sizes and colours but there were many small tradespeople as well, bringing their wares aboard, including huge amounts of more types of fruit than Jack had ever seen at one time and in one place, a bazaar of fruit vendors. He looked at the piles of fruit all around him, his mouth watering copiously. He had come to believe there was not enough food in the Royal Navy to sate his hunger, as he had shot up another two inches in the past fortnight. _Resolution_ was on short rations, which made him even hungrier.

There were far too many choices and suddenly he heard a girl's voice that sounded like the tinkle of bells, calling to him. "Oh, Master, Master, you come and you may sample as you like." Jack turned and caught sight of a tall, beautiful and exceptionally dark skinned young girl with the most dazzling smile he had ever seen beckoning to him. She wore the traditional garments of her people, a long skirt that tied at the waist, a matching headwrap and her very fine high and full bosom was entirely exposed, a traditional mark of eligibility in her tribe. Jack had to force himself to not look below her chin. He made his way over to her baskets of fruit.

"How much are those, Ma'am, if you please?" Jack said, pointing at the custard apples.

She shook her head no, picked up a dark pink fruit and said, "You try this one." She held it to her own lips, took a deep bite and held it before his mouth.He saw the juice drip down her chin. He opened his mouth and took a bite. It was very, very sweet and very juicy. He wiped his chin with his hand so the bright fuschia juice should not stain his uniform.

“What is this fruit called, Ma’am?”

“ _Amatungulu_ in Zulu. I do not know the English word, Master.”

“Is that your language? Zulu?”

“No, Master, I am Xhosa. I speak Xhosa, English, Dutch, French and some Zulu. Take another bite.” The girl said and Jack took another bite and swallowed it eagerly. “You like it? I will give you more. The darker the fruit, the sweeter it is.” she said and smiled at him. Her teeth were the most beautiful perfectly white teeth he had ever seen. She took a burlap sack and filled it with amatungulu and the custard apples. Jack reached in his pocket and she shook her head.

”Master, I am called Sally, what is your name?” Jack bowed to her and answered.

“My name is Aubrey, Mr. Aubrey.”

Sally said, “Mr. Aubrey, I like you very much.” and she smiled at him and gave him more fruit on top of the already full sack.

"You are altogether too kind, Miss, it is most handsome of you. Should you not cop it dreadfully if I do not pay you?" She laughed and again, Jack was struck by how much her laughter sounded like little bells.

"No, Mr. Aubrey, my Auntie has so much fruit, she will not notice. I may give some away if I wish to do so. And I do so wish very much." She said and she smiled at him.

She was young, no more than sixteen, Jack thought. She had come on board with her Auntie, who was apparently a fruit vendor who had a stall in the markets on shore but came out with the boats when a particularly large man of war was in port. Jack found himself turning and picking Sally out on the deck, over and over again. Her dress was bright blue. Her aunt and the other vendors were on the ship most of the day until almost four bells in the first dog watch. Some of the bumboats put off and Jack saw Sally's Auntie going down the side. He turned and she was standing behind him.

"I came to say good-bye, Mr. Aubrey." She looked up into his face. He stared into her velvety deep brown eyes and felt dizzy. "It was my great pleasure to meet you." Sally said very politely and she inclined her covered head most civilly.

"Ma'am, may I not show you some of the ship before you leave?" Jack said impulsively. Her pleasure in this gesture was written plainly on her face. Jack was at liberty for the moment and he took her belowdecks, giving her an abbreviated tour until they were alone on the cable tier and they fell into each other's arms and she kissed him hungrily to his immense delight. She embraced him and he pressed into her, feeling the fullness of her bare bosom pressing against his waistcoat. He felt as though he were falling off a cliff. He had kissed many, many other girls and he was no longer a virgin, but he had never encountered a girl like Sally, a girl who evidenced as much desire for him as he had for her. They spent over an hour kissing and then Jack heard the midshipmen's mess being piped to supper.

"Sally, I must go to my mess to get my supper, I shall be right back as soon as I may. Are you hungry, my dear?"

"A little bit, Mr. Aubrey."

"You must call me Jack." Jack said and blushed so deeply she could see it in the dimness of the cable tier. She laughed and touched his face to feel the heat."Shh, Sally, you must be very quiet," he said in a hushed voice, not at all severely and she kissed him quickly before he almost skipped away.

Supper was salt horse and ship's biscuit and Jack put his food in his kerchief. The other five midshipmen in his mess were too busy eating to pay attention to Jack as he excused himself to go to the jakes.

He was completely besotted with her. Sally was a delightful girl and very much like Jack himself in that she was extremely happy, friendly, impulsively generous and outgoing. Jack ran to the cable tier. Sally was waiting for him and they sprang to each other's arms, kissing.

“I will teach you Xhosa.” She said, kissing him.

“I am afraid I ain’t much good at talking foreign.” Jack said, doubtfully.

“It is easy, Jack. Ask me a word and I will say it and you repeat it.” She said and she kissed him.

“How do I say "good day" in your language?” He said, between kisses.

“You say “ _Molo_.”” He repeated it.

“How do I say, “How do you do?”” She kissed his neck.

“You say, “ _Unjani_?” She said. He repeated it.

“And how might I say, “I am fine?”

“Jack, you say “ _Ndiphilile._ ” We use it to say “I am fine,” but it means “I am alive.””

“ _Ndiphilile_.” Jack said, kissing her. “How may I say, “What is your name?”

“ _Ngubani igama lakho_?” Sally said, slowly. “And then I say, “ _Igama lam Sally M’puta_ ” -- my name is Sally M’puta, Jack Aubrey.” He reached into his pocket and handed her something wrapped in a handkerchief. It was a sperm whale’s tooth that he had been practicing scrimshaw on and had carved "HMS Resolution."

“I want you to have this, Sally.” Jack said, blushing. He did not have much and it was one of his most prized possessions at the moment.

“Thank you so very much, Jack Aubrey. _Enkosi._ ” she said, smiling and kissed him. "You are so beautiful," She breathed and ran her fingers through his hair, staring into his bright blue eyes. He was speechless. No woman had ever said anything of the kind to him. They leaned against the largest spool of cable and her hands were in his breeches. He moaned as she stroked him, struggling to undo his breeches, kissing him.

“You are not _kwetha._ ” She said and giggled.

“What does that mean?” She did not know the word for "circumcised" in English, so she shrugged and laughed. He hurriedly undid his breeches.

He was panting hard and she pushed him so he was lying on his back, she pulled her dress up and sat on him so he penetrated her, pulling his hands to her breasts. She moved up and down on him and then pulled off entirely. "Wait, wait, Jack, slower." He moaned in frustration and she took his hand and placed it between her legs, guiding him in touching her. His eyes widened. Her hands went to his erection and he gasped. He had never known, either, that a woman could experience pleasure equal to that of a man during the act. She showed him and told him what to do.

He had never had an experience like this. He was ecstatically happy. Every single movement of Sally's body was a revelation to him. He was Adam discovering Eve for the first time. When he finally spent, he thought he should die of happiness. He knew it was madness to keep her on board, he knew it could only end badly. He knew in his heart that they were as doomed as Orpheus and Eurydice or any other pair of star-crossed lovers that ever existed but he did not care. He was sixteen years old and in love for the first time with a girl who could match him measure for measure for his passion and heady ebullience for life. Her appetite for him equalled his for her and he revelled in her genuine and obvious delight in him, something he had never experienced with any other girl. She wanted nothing from him but his company and affection. They made love three times a day the three days she was there and Jack grew thinner and hungrier as he gave her the majority of his food.

The next day, Captain Douglas ordered that all women were to be put ashore immediately and Jack showed Sally where to hide to avoid detection. She was not discovered and Jack was delighted to spend all his free time with her. He was oblivious to the conspicuousness of his behavior and his obvious joy.

It was Midshipman Goole who betrayed Jack to Captain Douglas. Goole had followed him silently to the cable tier, had watched Jack and Sally make love on more than one occasion. Goole did not like Jack, chiefly because Jack was everything that he was not. Everyone liked Jack; he was an eminently amiable young man. He was handsome, cheerful, well-mannered and his greatly affectionate nature was written all over his face. It was hard for most to not like him. He was naturally modest and unassuming, filled with good cheer and fellow-feeling, qualities that Goole, already sour and embittered at age sixteen, lacked and therefore loathed. Jack was very well-liked by the hands, his fellow midshipman and the officers. He had the confidence of a natural leader of men and his seamanship after over four years on board was greatly admired by all observers. Jack's immense likeabilty was precisely the reason Goole disliked him. Jack's general popularity was thrown in Goole's face multiple times per day. Everyone liked Jack more than Goole, quite transparently and it was a thorn in his side. Captain Douglas' open admiration for Jack's seamanship was the unkindest cut of all. Goole had overheard the Captain opining to his first lieutenant that "Some are bred to the sea and some ain't. Aubrey clearly is, for any of his faults."

Goole had not cared one way or the other about the Captain’s tripe, but he saw the prank as the perfect opportunity to get a leg up on up on Jack Aubrey at last. He had let himself be caught to situate himself as informer and to let it be dragged out of him that Mr. Aubrey had masterminded this plan in order to feed the girl he had hidden in the cable tier. Charles Douglas loved Jack dearly but no affection could make up for his rage at being made the fool on his own ship.

"Pass the word for Mr. Aubrey!" rang out of the great cabin, becoming "Mr.Aubrey to the great cabin!" up the companionway, on to the deck, across the deck to mainmast to a sinking sensation in Jack's empty stomach. He scurried post haste to the great cabin, hoping against hope that what he knew to be true was not. One look at Captain Douglas' face dismissed any doubt whatever. Captain Douglas stood looking out the stern windows and when he turned, he was purple with rage. Jack pulled the door closed behind him and stood silently, head bowed.

"Aubrey, what is the goddamned meaning of this?" Captain Douglas said, pointing to the mechanism of hooks and tackles that Jack had rigged to purloin the Captain's tripe. Goole had provided it as material evidence.

"I am not certain, Sir." Jack said, praying his face had not turned scarlet, which it had and attempting to muster as much silent dignity as possible.

"Do not dare to stand in front of me and tell me bald-faced lies. Goddamn your eyes! Do you think yourself so fucking clever, Mr. Aubrey? I know everything, so you need not bother to lie to me. I know about the tripe, I know about your whore on the cable tier. Just who the hell do you think you are, Sir? I have cosseted you enough on this ship. You are not a snot-nosed squeaker with no idea of how to comport yourself appropriately as an officer and a gentleman. You are a goddamned disgrace, is what you are. This is a King's ship, not a goddamned bawdy house for you and your whoremaster ways. You are hereby disrated to able seaman. Get your things out of the cockpit, you are moving in with the foremast jacks. Go see the master for your orders. You are lucky that I don't have the bosun's mate mete out four dozen to you at the grating for your goddamned impudence. I have endeavoured for the last four years to teach you obedience and I have failed. The master may have more luck teaching you some damned respect than I did. You are goddamned lucky that I do not have you clapped in irons. Get out of my sight, Aubrey.” Jack left, closing the door behind him and ran down to the cable tier.

“Sally? Sally?” Jack called quietly. A seaman came halfway down the ladder.

“She’s gone, mate. She was just put over the side. The coxswain is taking her into port.” Jack felt tears well up in his eyes. The fact that he did not get to say good-bye to Sally struck him as far more painful than his being disrated. He went to the cockpit, got his chest and moved to his new berth and hung his hammock and wept for hours, because he knew that he would never see her again. After much time had passed, he heard voices around him whispering and felt a hand on his shoulder.

“There, there feller. It has happened to all of us at one time or another.” Jack could not look up. He endeavoured to stop his bellowing sobs, with his eyes shut tight.

"Poor lad, he is taking it powerful hard."

"Cap'n was awful rough on 'im."

"He's a good lad and a fine seaman and I'm glad he's in our mess now."

"'E's not like some of them mids, talking chuff to men old enough to be their belsires, the whoresons." Friendly voices surrounded him.

"Aubrey, have you got any slops there?" Jack looked up.

"No, I have not." He said, staring at his uniform, for he had just outgrown all of his slops and his money and energies had gone into keeping himself as respectably attired in his midshipman's uniform as he could, given his penury. He looked around at his new messmates, who surrounded his hammock looking at him with the tenderest sympathy on their weather worn faces. They were for the most part men easily old enough to be his father and he knew all of them by name. They were good, reliable fellows who knew their trade, all decent and well-regarded. They all liked him without exception and Maitland, the leader of the mess, proffered a spotless handkerchief to Jack.

"Take care with your uniform, you will wear it again, mate. Joe will help you. You are of a size. Go on there, lad." Jack took off his uniform and put it away in his chest, starting his new life as a foremast jack.

Midshipman Goole had to restrain his desire to gloat when he next saw Able Seaman Aubrey, who now had to make his obedience to Goole and did so completely unselfconsciously. There were few secrets on a king’s ship, even a ship as large as _Resolution_. Of her complement of seven hundred, Jack appeared to be the only one aboard who did not realize the full extent to which Goole had seized the opportunity to inform on him out of spite. Goole soon noticed two developments that made him even more bitter: paradoxically, Jack's stock had gone up amongst virtually all of his shipmates. Goole had attempted some subtle jabs to the other oldsters about the inevitable consequences of exercising poor judgement and possessing poor morals and not one would say a bad word about Jack. They had all looked at him with barely disguised contempt. Goole noticed a hardness towards himself in the eyes of the hands as well and a look of disapproval in the officers. Even his own gun crew now collectively viewed him with a new found skepticism that disquieted him. To Goole's displeasure, he found that in the ship's calculus, it seemed that his actions had the unintended consequence that his own stock had apparently gone down. Captain Douglas was now colder towards him in the aftermath and Goole's sole satisfaction was to be observing Jack's miserable life in his diminished status. His triumph was not as fulfilling as Goole envisioned,to his great annoyance. Goole could plainly see that Jack Aubrey's very sanguine nature had prevailed yet again.  Jack had the audacity to still be something that Goole rarely ever was: blatantly happy.


End file.
